Jim Trippon, CPA

As we mentioned earlier this week, there was a good chance that Starbucks (Nasdaq: SBUX) would unveil its first-ever dividend at its analyst meeting on Wednesday and the company did not disappoint, announcing that it would pay a quarterly dividend of 10 cents a share.

Based on Wednesday's closing price of $25.29, Starbucks would yield about 1.6%. Some analysts were expecting a dividend of six cents a share, so to a degree, Starbucks provided a bit of a surprise.

In addition to the dividend, Starbucks said it will add 15 million shares to an existing repurchase plan that has 6.3 million shares remaining on it. The company reiterated that it expects to generate free cash flow of $1 billion this year.

None of this impressed investors as Starbucks traded lower on Wednesday. One reason for that may be that investors view the Starbucks dividend as a sign the company is moving away from its former glory as a growth stock to become more of a value name.